By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – An Alabaster-based company will tear down the remains of an abandoned, burned house in a high-visibility part of the city after the City Council agreed to approve funds for the demolition during a May 14 meeting.

Council members voted unanimously to award an $1,800 bid to Cornerstone Tree Service to demolish a structure at 574 Simmsville Road in the coming weeks. Cornerstone was the lowest of six bids the city received for the project.

The home, which fronts Shelby County 11 across from Mount Olive Baptist Church, was heavily damaged by fire last year, was declared a total loss and has been vacant since the fire.

During a recent meeting, the Housing Abatement Board recommended the structure be torn down after the property owners did not comply with requests to demolish the structure themselves. The Housing Abatement Board passed its recommendation on to the City Council, which approved the demolition in February.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Sophie Martin previously said the property owner does not live in the area.

Since the City Council voted to accept the Housing Abatement Board’s recommendation, the city will cover the cost of tearing down the structure, and will then place the cost as a lien against the property. The lien, which the council will vote on after the demolition is completed, must be repaid before the property can be sold in the future.